BIOPHARM RESEARCH INVESTMENT JUMPS BY $3.4 BILLION DURING ‘06

US drug industry spending on biopharmaceutical
research set a new record
last year, as manufacturers shelled out
>$55 billion in the race to develop new
biomedicines and vaccines.

Overall, American pharmaceutical researchers
increased their research and
development expenditures by $3.4 billion
in 2006enabling US scientists to
"continue to step up their attack against
some of the more complex diseases,
including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and
other neurologic disorders," according
to officials of the Pharmaceutical
Research and Manufacturers of America
(PhRMA).

"As we address these more complex
conditions, our scientists find themselves
spending more time and money
on basic research to develop important
new medicines," said PhRMA President
Billy Tauzin. "Biopharmaceutical research
companies are also working on new
techniques and technologies that could
lead to the development of safer and
more effective drugs."